Answer
Christ does not come simply to pay a debt that we owe to God so that God can write our debt off of the books. No, Christ comes to bring us back to the Father. Christ comes to unite the divine life that is lost in the fall of Adam, back to our humanity. Only if Christ is the one who can bring God and man together can we really say that we have been saved, not just forgiven of our sins, but saved, made again what God intended us to be all along — those who bear his image, those who live in the fullness of his presence, and those whose lives are united to him in love and faith and obedience.
Answer by Dr. Steve Blakemore
Dr. Steve Blakemore is the Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary